Page 78 - It Ends with Us

Allysa ho ps off the count er and carri es her mug to the sink . “She’s

my frien d, R yle. You don’t ha ve the bes t track rec ord when it comes to
rel ations hi ps.” She washes out the mug and then lea ns her hi p int o
the sink , facing us. “As her friend, I ha ve the right to give he r my
opini on when it comes to the guys she dates . Tha t’s wha t friend s do .”
I’m suddenl y feel ing unc omfortable as the tens ion grows thi cker
bet ween the two of them. R yle does n’t ev en take a drink of hi s coffee.

He walks toward Allysa and pours it out in the sink . He’s stand ing
right in front of her, but she won’t ev en look at hi m. “Wel l, as your
brothe r, I would ho pe you ha d a little more faith in me tha n you do.
Tha t’s wha t siblings do.”
He walks out of the kitchen, sho ving the door open. Wh en he’s
gone, Allysa takes a deep brea th. She sha kes her hea d and pulls her
ha nd s up to her face. “Sorr y about tha t,” she says, forcing a smile. “I

need to sho wer.”
“You don’t ha ve peo ple for tha t?”
She laughs as she ex its the kitchen. I wash my mug in the sink and
hea d back to R yle’s bed room. When I open the door, he’s sitting on
the couch, scrolling thro ugh hi s pho ne. He does n’t look up at me
when I walk in and for a sec ond , I thi nk he might be mad at me, too.

But then he tosses hi s pho ne aside and lea ns back int o the couch.
“Come here, ” he says.
He grabs my hand and pulls me down on top of hi m so tha t I’m
straddling hi m. He bring s my mouth to hi s and kisses me so ha rd, it
makes me wond er if he’s trying to prove hi s sister wrong .
R yle pulls away from my mouth and slowly rakes hi s ey es down my
body. “I like you in my clothes .”

I smile. “Wel l I ha ve to get to work, so unf ortuna tel y, I can’t keep
them on. ”
He brushes the ha ir from my face and says, “I ha ve a rea lly
important surger y coming up tha t I need to prep are for. Whi ch
mea ns I probably won’t see you for a few days.”
I try to hi de my disappoint ment , but I ha ve to get used to it if he

rea lly want s to try and make somet hi ng work bet ween us. He’s alrea dy
warned me tha t he works too much. “I’m busy, too. Grand openi ng is
on Friday.”
He says, “Oh, I’ll see you bef ore Friday. Promise. ”